Fruit Picnic

“Don’t open it with you hands, use your head to open it.” “No, it only works on someone else’s head.” In Erin Gleeson’s witty and intimate video, artists Vandy Rattana, Lim Sokchanlina, Khvay Samnang, and Vuth Lyno—members of the collective Stiev Selepak (Art Rebels)—enjoy a leisurely picnic in a forest clearing, using the occasion to share myths and stories associated with characteristic Cambodian foods. Tracing connections between cultures and languages through cultivation and cuisine, the group reveals the breadth and subtlety of meaning that is often encoded in the most outwardly simple ingredients and dishes. “My friend asked me why the Khmer offer bananas to the spirits. A good answer is that it is a tradition. But in reality, banana is the cheapest.”